What Happens Behind the Circus Ring
by eStHeR-tHe-ScRiBe
Summary: Misaki and Shinobu sneak into an illegal circus show and find themselves trapped in a covenant with people they'd rather not know. But falling in love with men is critical in the Cirque des Couers family...
1. Stray Couers

**(Tips hat and gives the crowd a blank face) Enjoy. (Flash of fire blazes up and whists me away)**

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"Ah! Misaki-kun!" Shinobu called out behind me. I turned around to see the blonde haired boy running to catch up with me. Shinobu and I had started out just as classmates in a cooking seminar, but when he asked me to help him out, I couldn't refuse his nostalgic request. We practiced at my apartment, for a very long time, then started hanging out for more than cooking-needs. We became great friends after our encounter. I really hadn't had that many friends when I started college anyways, other than sempai.

"Yo," I said as he ran up to me. He was breathless, only shoving a flyer in my face. I took it from him gently, thanking him, and studied it.

**CIRQUE DES COUERS  
(Circus of the Hearts)**

**Admission: Free for those who are worthy**

**For those of you who think absurdity  
is merely madness, you will be able  
to reconsider... with pleasure.**

**For those of you who take love for  
granted, you will be aroused by our  
many talented acts... by or by not force.**

I stared at it blankly. Had Shinobu finally lost it? This was definitely one of those illegal shows. I could just tell that there was something bad about this... especially with where it was. _Friday night at the Abandoned Playhouse. _I shivered. The Abandoned Playhouse was self explanatory. It was an old theatre that used to thrive with performances until it went bankrupt and was now used for all sorts of illegal things. Things that included drug dealing, underage drinking/smoking, and black market trades. Shinobu stared up at me with glowering eyes, begging me and threatening me to go.

"Why?" I finally choked up.

"Why?" he mimed. Shinobu backed up against the wooden wall and slid down uneasily. "Misaki-kun... you know about my father and how well-mannered I need to be and all_..." Yeah... I know_..., "Well... sometimes I just want to do something worth talking about. Cooking classes? If I even mentioned it to the guys back in Kyoujou (imaginary gangster hall) they'd probably beat me up... but this." He took the red, black and gold colored flyer and stared at it. "This is definitely something worth honorable mention."

I sighed and sat beside him.

"But... Shinobu-chan-."

"Please Misaki!" Shinobu yelled in a question. I flinched at his sudden intensity of anger. He stared at me with those eyes, the ones that reminded me of a fire that burned only to be seen and not to hold a purpose... maybe this circus will teach him something. Hmm, maybe they'll think we're little snitches or something and tell us that we can't come inside. I smiled. Yeah, that's what they'll probably do.

"Okay," I sighed. Shinobu made I sigh of contentment and latched himself to my arm for a moment, almost as if it were a hug. Very unShinobu-like...

* * *

**Friday**

I wore jeans and a regular tee shirt alongside Shinobu. We looked like regular teenagers going to see an innocent show, but I knew just as well as he did that this was no innocent show. I could see it now, the flames, the psychotic clowns, the people swinging off ropes and falling onto the ground, screams, yells, sirens... I snapped out of it and sighed. It was obvious these people were not going to rip us off of our money and leave us to watch a "never to be seen" show. They would've charged prices then.

It was also obvious that these people had to be some kind of professional because the flyers looked very proficient. The name also caught my attention. Circus of the Hearts... I was no master in French, but I was sure that they didn't just slap those words together from a magazine. They had to take some time on it. I don't know why the show was bothering me so much anyways, we weren't going to watch it. We were going to be denied like any sane person would do. I clutched my hand to my shirt, because even though I said this, a tiny part of my heart wished that they would allow us to see what would be going on.

I sighed deeply as we rounded our way behind the bushes in the dark and saw the beaten down and falling apart house. It was large, very large, the stage was very showy. I remembered once seeing it when it was opened. Lights would shine everywhere and sound and scene FX would be deployed, to make for a spectacular performance. I now looked forward to see the ghost-like wooden playhouse with the masks with cracked faces. The frowning one had an eye completely missing, and the smiling one's mouth had chipped off slightly. I took a steady sigh and walked with Shinobu up to the door.

Two guys about our age raced before us, smirking and spitting their tongues out at us. Shinobu got angry, but I held him back. At the front door, there was a man wearing a black hat and a black suit with a cane in his hand and a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He was pretty tall, taller than the two of us at least. He had dark eyes and black hair that seemd almost completely hidden. His eyes were difficult to tell too, seeing as though the shadow that cast over his face from the mask had devoured almost all his face.

The two boys almost ran straight through, only to be stopped by the man's cane hitting the other side of the door and stopping them. They each made wary smile up at him. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but he had a sly smile casting on the part of his face that was enlightened by the pale moonlight. The boys said something back, the man chuckled and said one more thing before kicking them. Shinobu and I froze. The two guys looked up at the guy angrily, but scared, and ran away yelling, "Who needs this shit anyways!" The man simply chuckled again and leaned back against the door, his arms folded across his chest and his cane swinging in the air.

"You go," Shinobu whispered before pushing me harshly towards the door. Before I could stop myself, his cane was wedged between him and the door, causing me to fly back and fall flat on my ass. I groaned a bit in pain and looked up to see the man's dark, luminescent eyes on me. I felt a surge of electricity wind down my spine. He clacked his cane against the floor boards of the entrance hallway. Nothing happened. Nothing was said. It was almost as if he was trying to read me like a book. I stood up, slightly jostled and still quaking from my fear. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Young meat," he mumbled, "I don't think that brats like you are allowed." I froze.

"He's not a brat, asshole!" I turned around to see Shinobu's face vexed and full of loathing towards the man. Shinobu walked up to me. "We're here to see you're goddamned show, whether you like it or not!" The man stared at Shinobu, not in anger or annoyance or even delight that he had put up a fight... he was just surprised and interested. Something else creeped into his irises, a soft kind of pale blue that seemed to caress through his eyes like the chill on this mid-summer night.

"I see," was all he said before caving the shadows on his face once again. We each looked over to him, eyes widened with anticipation. "You are not welcome to proceed." We each waited for the foot in our stomachs, but he just stood there. After a moment or two, Shinobu made a 'Hmph' of anger.

"Fine then!" he roared, turning around and grabbing my hand, walking to the end of the playhouse. My face was relaxed, but a tad disappointed.

"Alright, Shinobu-chan, let's go home," I breathed. Shinobu looked back at me with a smirk.

"We're here to see that asshole's show," Shinobu declared rounding to the back of the caged entrance leading to the backdoor... "I think of his statement as more of an invitation." A jingle chimed from the steel gates as he gripped a hold of it. He smirked down at me once more and held a hand out to me. "Are you in or not?"

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I didn't understand how I got to sneaking around _behind the scenes_ of the stage, but I was scared. More than scared, I was anxious for them to find us. It was only a matter of time before one of us turned around and saw that bone-chilling man rest his white gloved hand on our shoulders, ripping our throats out to our death.

We heard footsteps and hid in the depths of the shadows. My heart was drumming wildly as I smelt the heavy scent of cigarette smoke. Shinobu looked completely confident, his chest puffed up like he was able to take whatever came his way. I stared at him in a silent awe. He was much stronger than me in more ways than one. Even though he was younger than me, he was obviously much more determing to do what he wanted than I ever would have imagined. Once the scent, and footsteps, faded away, we each ran down the hall to a side corridor that read "Crowd Circle". We decided that that was where we would take our seats.

We looked down to see the wooden floor boards become a stained red carpet with dim candles lighting the way. The walls had a new décor. Usually they were simple and gold, but this time there were pictures of clowns and ring masters and people that didn't even seem like people. We turned left and saw a full house of people filling in the seats of the auditorium. Sinobu and I walked out into the the floor area and looked for seats. It was so packed that we could barely find two seats together that had a good view. We looked around a bit until we saw some seats in the back, hidden in shadows. We decided it was good enough, seeing as though we weren't supposed to be here anyways.

We waited there for a while, the murmur of the crowd buzzing all around. Everything in the room seemed to have some sort of a circus theme. I wasn't unnerved by it, it just wasn't normal to see in such a classical theatre. I had to admit, though, these guys really knew how to set the mood. After almost fifteen minutes, music blared from the speakers.

I didn't understand how. Those speakers were cut off from all electircal power and shouldn't have been working. They might've had a power source that they would crank or carry around. Lights, of all different colors, streamed around the audience, temproraly blinding me. The only color I could truly depict out of them was red. The green I mistook for aqua and blue sometimes for purple, but of course it could very well _be_ aqua and purple. I knew that red was red though, not even remotely close to pink. Then, smoke jetted from the sides of the stage and filled the space with an essence of eeriness. The curtains, in one hasty pull, had disappeared from the audience's sight and had revealed a dark and ghastly figure. The figure was also tall and wore a Ring Master's outfit. I didn't realize until my eyes were so dry that I had to blink, but I was staring.

"Hello," the voice began cheerfully, but darkly, "I'll be your guide for the night..." his eyes flashed up to the audience. They were glistening a lilc color, it was like they were strobe lights themselves. "Only a Ring Master can tell what heart is being devoured by the dark," I froze. His eyes had landed on me. Straight at me. It was like all of a sudden he and I were the only ones there. "And what heart is worthy of accepting the darkness." He cocked his neck to the side, showing off his pale skin and white hair. He sent shivers down my spine, slowly easing me into the show.

"My name is Akihiko Usami," he announced. "But for tonight, I am simply _Maître D'anneau..._" I think that was where I had fallen in love.

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**lolz, okay, the reason I deleted and reposted this story was because my other account was bitchy. so, here is the story, no comment limit thingy. Just good ol' fashion story. :) lolz**


	2. Shinobu in Wonderland

**Kya! I love Misaki and Akihiko, but I have a new craze with Miyagi and Shinobu, so you're gonna see them too. Teehee! But, since the last chapter was largely UsaMis, let's have some MiyShin action! XD**

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I don't think Misaki noticed when I snuck away. He was too busy being entertained with some guy that had dark blue hair and had doves fly out of his hat. The trick was boring, we saw things like this when we were kids. I was looking for some real action, something that would actually make me regret coming here. I needed to have some sort of adrenaline rush, and I was pretty sure that these bozos weren't accepting volunteers from the audience.

There was barely anyone behind the stage. You'd think that with some fancy circus show going on, there'd be more performers. I wasn't really one to judge though.

Click, click, click, click… I noticed the almost silent steps. My heart pumped, but I wasn't really scared. This might've been the beginning of my adventure. I made a sharp turn into a small corner masked by stage instruments. Click, click… the footsteps came to a halt. I smelt a vaguely familiar smell. It was sweet… like strawberries, or melon. There was a mix of a sort of wheat too. Melon and wheat? There was a hint of smoke, cigarette smoke. I tried to think about how that would be familiar. Then I heard a voice and nearly jumped out of my skin.

"I thought I saw him come back here," someone began.

"I don't see anyone. Perhaps it was just Akihiko," that voice was completely familiar. I held my breath, hoping I wasn't found out. I wouldn't really have cared if I was kicked out, I just didn't want to get kicked out while Misaki was still sitting in the crowd, watching lame magic tricks.

"Akihiko doesn't just appear and disappear. Despite-."

"Enough," the familiar voiced man ordered. "You're on stage in a matter of minutes. Nowaki won't be hesitant to pull people out of the crowd while he waits." Are you freakin' kidding me?! The one time I decide to come back here and people might be pulled form the crowd! Just my freakin' luck! I sighed, more like groaned, in annoyance. There were no footsteps. Everything was quiet. How long were they going to stand there? I impatiently swept my fingers over the wooden wall behind me.

In my irritated struggle to stay still, I felt an indent in the wall. It felt as if there was a door. I looked down behind me and saw a small trap door that was small enough for a person to crawl through. It was one of those cliché, conspicuous doors that would lead to a mysterious book room or something where there was a secret that they're hiding from the crowd. Despite the predictable conclusion behind it, I dropped to my knees and crawled into the small space.

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**Miyagi's POV**

I waited there, while Hiroki left for his turn on the stage. I knew that child was hiding, and I waited there for him to notice the passage. After mere seconds, there was a tap of wood, a creak, and the soft shutting of a door. I smirked and walked towards the small entrance, now clearly labeled "Rabbit's Hideaway".

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**Shinobu's POV**

The pathway was not what I expected. First of all, I was imagining that it would by a concrete passage to wherever. That was not the layout at all. Instead, it was a dirt hole with small lights dotting through the walls. It almost captured me in a… magical aura. Second of all, it was much warmer than I had anticipated. Only seconds of being inside the tunnel, I was dying to take my shirt off. Lastly, the soil was odd. Soil has that funny smell that you'd smell in a garden shop or something. Last I remembered, soil was damp in humidity like this too. The soil was dry and sweet smelling though.

I didn't know how long I was crawling, but I was growing tired fast because of the heat. I felt like the oxygen around me was thinning also. Uggh, this is unbearable. I thought, just before I caught a glimpse of a bright light at the end of the never-ending burrow. The air caught me first, allowing me to breathe.

Fwump! I guess I was closer to the end than I thought because I had fallen out from the hole that was a foot in the wall beside me. In my exhausted efforts, I slumped there on the cool ground, allowing for some of my energy to return to me.

"Tired… tired… tired…," voices hissed around me. The voices were high pitched in a mature way. It was as if they were mythical. I opened my eyes to see what doomed room I had landed in. Much to my surprise, it was dark. Well… the original room was dark. There were grassy hills that were shaded into a navy blue due to the dark. Above me were stars and the moon. I would've guessed that I'd landed outside if not for the neon lights that outlined trees in shapes of spades.

The stars, now that I looked closer, were in the shapes of diamonds. They were perfect little diamond shapes glistening above me. To my side, there were flowers in shapes of hearts, and clovers dotted the fields. It was a familiar story setting.

"Rest my prince. Tired, tired, you must be tired… rest, rest and rest some more," these hysteric little voices chanted. I mumbled something to myself and tried standing up. There was a sudden tightening at my wrists and ankles though. My eyes widened in alert and I looked to see who was restraining me. The correct question, though, was… what was holding me?

Vines rose up from out of the dirt wall that I fell through and tightened their grip around me. Complete fear washed through me. I could handle psycho circus people. I could handle abusive relationships. I could handle bickering parents. I could handle all that. What I couldn't handle, were things that had no scientific reasoning behind them.

"Get the hell off!" I ordered, struggling against their grip.

"Yell… yell…," it seemed like a sadistic beg versus a playful command. The way these faceless things whispered it made me sweat in fear.

"What the hell is this?" I demanded. I then looked up into the fantasy-like realm. "Who's doing this? You sick and twisted bastards-!" I lost my breath due to the vines wrapping themselves around my neck. The lack of air was making me light headed. I couldn't find it in myself to yell anymore. I had lost all will power, and was slowly falling dangerously close into the arms of someone I wished I wouldn't meet… so young, that is.

"Release your grip," that familiar voice commanded above me. The vines were gone as quickly as they had appeared. The danger felt as if it hadn't left though. Actually, I think this man was the center of all the dark aura that was engulfing me.

"Where the hell…" I began breathlessly, feeling sick. I doubled over in held my head, but kept my focus on his answer. He didn't answer directly after, which probably gave him enough time to whip up a lie.

"You're in a dream land," he whispered, sitting down beside me. I looked to my side and saw his arms behind him, his face raised lightly into the air. It was the man from the door. I groaned, annoyed.

"Dream land, huh?" I questioned, sitting up after my queasiness passed. "I always thought a dream land to be positive. Being attacked wasn't really how I planned beginning a place like this." I admitted to him. The man nodded, not looking in my direction. I puckered my lip annoyed.

"In order to receive something pleasurable, you must go through some pain," he whispered. I sighed and fell on my back in a huff.

"You're weird, you know that?" I informed him. A smirk bubbled onto his face.

"What's a dream land to you?" he asked, turning his attention to me. For some reason, his intent stare made me feel uncomfortable… sort of embarrassed. I turned to my side, away from him, and closed my eyes.

"A dream land…" I restated. "Where there is no one to take you away from what you want, where music plays by your emotion, where you can be completely released from life." I was sort of just blabbering. I didn't know what was in a dream land, if I had to customize it. I wasn't especially keen on sharing something like that with a stranger either. A stranger who had kicked me out from the place I was anyway. Well… if I still was at the Abandoned Playhouse.

Almost in an instant, piano music started playing. The music was familiar. It was sung along with some vocaloid who called himself (or was named) Kaito. The mood became sort of intense… sort of inspiring. If he was trying to match my mood, he was completely off. I wasn't feeling like this at all. The music was pleasant though.

After the music played I felt another restraining vine tread over my stomach and gripping my other side. I groaned annoyed and turned around to look at him.

"Can you tell these vines to-," I began. When I opened my eyes, I was surprise to see that it wasn't a vine that held me, but the man's arm. "Gyah!" I screeched, trying to flee back. His arm was strong though, and he pulled me closer. I tried to push him off, but with his other unoccupied hand, he took mine. He then flipped me so I was on my back and kissed my neck.

"H-hey!" I tried to sound angry. "What do you think you're doing…?" my voice softened, for an unknown reason.

"You should've chosen your words a bit more carefully," he whispered into his ear so the vines couldn't hear. The way he said it made my heart skip a beat, and a blush rose to my face. I desperately tried to hide the embarrassing evidence that I was, even if only slightly, enjoying myself. "Here's that music," he kissed my neck once more, "in a place where no one will bother us," he kissed my jaw next. His kisses made it hard for me to question the "us" thing. "And I will promise you a full release from life."

My face was bright red.

"Th-that's not what I meant!" I accused, trying to wriggle free. The man caught his lips up with mine, forcing me to shut up.

I'd never really kissed a girl before, so I was sort of expecting him to lead. Uggh! It sounded like we were dancing! Moreover, I was okay with this guy making out with me! Oh, but I made sure he had to battle his way in. My teeth were clenched for only seconds. Then he broke his way through and battled with my tongue. On a whim, I wrapped my arms around his neck, thinking that it was the right way to do this.

There was something I didn't like though. I was on the bottom! If I was ever reduced to being caught up in a gay relationship, I would sure as hell want to be the seme! My attempt was fruitless once I felt my clothes begin to leave me. My eyes widened at the sudden exposed bare skin on my chest.

"St-stop!" I stuttered quickly, raising myself up so I was propped on my elbows. The man looked up at me from trailing kisses down my stomach. It was then, that I not only noticed the lust in his eyes… but also the red that dyed them. I knew why I was really freaking out now. I could handle psycho circus people. I could handle abusive relationships. I could handle bickering parents. I could handle all that. What I couldn't handle, was having some mutant trying to screw me. I mumbled the question before I was ready to hear the answer, "What are you…?"

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**Misaki's POV**

"Shinobu, do you think that man from outside is going to be on stage?" I looked to my side, seeing no sign of him. My heart jolted in panic. Shinobu was gone! He was away from my side! What the hell? How? Why; more importantly, when and where? I was about to go searching for him, but there was a pair of hands the fled over my eyes. I sighed in relief.

"Shinobu-kun?" I asked. "I was so worried. Where have you been?" There was a dark chuckle that I was sure Shinobu couldn't pull off.

"Mm, sorry for disappointing you," he whispered. "But we have some important matters to discuss."

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**Like it? Lolz. You're gonna flip when you know what Miyagi is!! XD lolz!!**


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